Tag Archives: English translation

English katha of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji that has been commenced by Kamalpreet Singh Pardeshi. This katha is different from other English language kathas as it is taken from the Sampardaic commentaries preserved by the taksals and is to provide those individuals who do not have a complete grasp of Gurbani, access to the knowledge preserved. This is a truly fantastic opportunity for those who do not understand the Indian languages to learn the deep katha of Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji from a sampardaic perspective.

Katha on Guru Granth Sahib ji, all in English!! This is the first time I’ve seen something like this recorded, so please spread the link around. Check out their youtube page where they’re putting up the entire katha, bit by bit, as it gets done.

Please Note that there are issues with lagaa matra and padd ched (splitting up of lines). That’s b/c the source for all these banis is the net and besides Bhagat ji’s pothian, it’s almost impossible to find Gurbani gutkas/pothis/websites that don’t have mistakes with lagaa matray and padd chedd.

Please note that there are some padd ched mistakes in this file. As this file is sourced from the internet, it is only as accurate as the rest of the net. Correct padd ched (splitting up of sentences into individual words) can be found in Bhagat ji’s Visraam pothi, downloadable from http://www.gursevak.com. The Visraam pothi also includes correct lagaa matray and the bisraams (pauses for pronounciation).

Also, http://www.gurmatveechar.com has received massive updates recently. Some English books by Sant Waryam Singh ji have been put up. I highly recomend you read all of his writings if you want to know about some of the deeper stages of spirituality.

‘Jaap’ Sahib is the ‘bani’ of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji. From the rehatnamas [we find] Satguru Ji insisting that every Sikh should, at the very least, recite Japji and Jaap every morning. This bani is also read during the preparation of ‘Amrit’.

However, on general observation it appears as if the attention given to this bani does not reflect what is said in regard to its necessity for Sikh spiritual life (ਸਿੱਖ ਆਤਮਿਕ ਜੀਵਨ). The apparent reason for this is that [the bani] contains a significant amount of words from the Sanskrit, Arabic and Persian lexicon and because of this, it appears to be very difficult. To overcome this difficulty a number of commentaries have been produced but from the perspective of those students who read them analytically, these are not fully satisfactory

Although this is the first commentary I have presented covering the bani of Guru Gobind Singh, I have created it using the same methods [previously] employed in the Jap Ji, Bhatta Dey Swaiyye, Asa Di Vaar, Sukhmani and Ramkali teekas [penned by the author]. From a ‘linguistics‘ perspective, great attention has been paid to ensuring that a student should be able to correctly comprehend every difficult word and the meanings of their underlying ideas.

Certain words are used in a repeated fashion in ‘Jaap’ Sahib and because of this it becomes quite difficult to memorise. Even when one has memorised it, should one’s attention wonder at the time of recital there is a decreased chance of it being fully completed because the reoccurrence of particular words means that [one can easily find themselves subsequently proceeding] from an earlier or later point of the prayer. So this ‘bani’ is very helpful in [learning] to keep one’s attention singularly fixed.

Reading this ‘bani’ from the perspective of the unfamilar, can lead to the impression that it simply consists of repetitive references to random, individual attributes of the Supreme Soul (ਪ੍ਰਮਾਤਮਾ) and that the notions contained within this bani do not form any consistent, uniform whole. However, in this commentary I have described how we do indeed receive a uniform and connected thread of meaning throughout the 22 chands of ‘Jaap’.

Hindu folk were calling Sanskrit the ‘language of gods’ (ਦੇਵ-ਬਾਣੀ). For the Muslims, Arabic alone was considered to be legitimate and right according to their creed. The people of each faith were loathed to use the language of the other’s scripture to express their religious emotions (ਧਾਰਮਿਕ ਤਰੰਗ) . However, by using Sanskrit, Arabic and Farsi words in Jaap, and by ordering Sikhs to recite this prayer on a daily basis, Guru Gobind Singh permanently eradicated the narrow mindedness (ਤੰਗ-ਦਿਲੀ) and partisanship of the Hindu and Muslim eras from the hearts of Sikhs.

Despite the presence of people who called themselves ’ renunciates’ of the conventional way of life, at the time of Guru Nanak Sahib’s arrival in the country, genuine detachment and love for humanity was rarely witnessed. Lives lived with compassion and contentment where scarce and scattered thinly over the land. Now commonly any nation’s ‘folk songs’ would have a deep impact (ਡੂੰਘਾ ਅਸਰ) on the lives of its inhabitants, but due to the spread of ceremonious (or overt) shows of religiosity [as opposed to true faith], even these folk songs were failing to inspire any movement towards higher aspirations such as kindness, contentment, love, sacrifice and so forth. Guru Nanak suffused these musical folk traditions with a new lease of life. Through using ghorian, chand, alaahnyaan, sadu, barahmah, laavaan, vaar and various other [poetic] metres, all of these dying aspects of [people’s] existences were reinvigorated with a fresh breeze of life; [As a consequence] sentiments of truth, restraint, love, compassion and contentment began to bring beauty into the lives of the common man.

The word (of Guru Nanak) consisting of the very essence of peace (ਸ਼ਾਂਤ ਰਸ ਬਾਣੀ) halted people’s [tendency towards] corruption. But the heart that doesn’t contain the capacity for spirited movement (ਜੋਸ਼ ਦਾ ਹੁਲਾਰਾ) cannot remain eternally steadfast in purity. This attribute [steadfastness in purity] cannot survive if an enthusiastic zeal is not produced. The beauty of the Almighty has two sides; one is ‘Jamaal’ (delicate beauty) and the other is ‘Jalaal’ (majesty). Restraint, love, compassion, kindness and contentment (ਤਿਆਗ, ਪਿਆਰ, ਦਇਆ ਤੇ ਸੰਤੋਖ) etc. are soft (ਕੋਮਲ) aspects of the beauty of human existence, which find inspiration in the bani of the Guru Granth Sahib. To keep this ‘jamal’ (delicate beauty) alive necessitated the keeping of ‘jalaal’. There was a need for the very essence of bravery (ਬੀਰ ਰਸ). This duty was the responsibility of Guru Gobind Singh Ji. The pleasure (ਲੁਤਫ) of their bani is such that whilst it contains the praises of God (ਪ੍ਰਮਾਤਮਾ), the words and the poetic metres that have been utilised are such that they cause the oscillation of bir raas (ਬੀਰ ਰਸ) when being listened to or read.

All of the bani of Sri Guru Granth Sahib has been divided along the line of ‘raags’, but the bani of Guru Gobind Singh Ji has been separated according to individual ‘chands’ which helps produce bir ras (ਬੀਰ-ਰਸ). Note how God is referred to in the form of a sword in Bachitar Natak and how the type of words and metres used in the salutation causes one’s mind to be pervaded with a rising, dancing fervour (ਜੋਸ਼).

Guruji has shown immense kirpa – the fifth article in the series is now complete. Sabudh Baach is a deeply engaging story, with many important moral lessons to be learnt from it. It provides a nice, in-depth analysis of various metaphorical verses, along with brief description of the story itself. Attempt is to answer many important questions like Concept of Mahakal, implicit references to Puranic texts, etc. It is a sincere hope that this pious composition of Sri Guruji be read by critics and curious alike. As with previous articles, this one is also extensively based on Dr. Harbhajan Singh Ji’s book + Gyani Narain Singh Ji’s Steek along with massive help from Mahan Kosh by Bhai Kahn Singh Ji Nabha. Ok, enough Read on, im sure this will be an eye opener!

The third section of Charitropakhyan has generally remained neglected. Dialogues of minister ‘Bhoop’ end at Charitar 403 and the composition begins under a new title ‘ਸਬੁਧੀ ਵਾਚ’ (Sabuddhi Vaach). The word ‘ਸਬੁਧਿ’ is shortened form of ‘ਸਦ-ਬੁਧਿ’ which means ‘ਚੰਗੀ ਬੁਧੀ’ (good intellect). The metaphorical meaning is that King Chitr Singh eventually came to his senses with persistent inspiration from his wise ministers. A more comprehensive and global meaning is, when wise and responsible people present before society the dangers of crimes originating from kaam in a proper manner, people become prudent and pleasing atmosphere is created. The writer of Charitropakhyan tells that with the advent of prudence, Satjug-like age dawned again. Negating the age of Satjug as given in Shastars, it has been described as an age where expansion of positive reasoning takes place, ending society’s seemingly inexhaustible preoccupation with bad habits. The pitch black night of Kaljug in which inexorable sexual misconducts take place is pleasantly transformed into Satjug by the light of positive intellect. In fact, this ideology is in complete harmony with that of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, who tell us that it is not time that influences good or bad behaviour in society, rather it is human conduct that make time appear good or bad. With the end of Kaljug and rise of Satjug, a character named ‘ਸਤਿ ਸੰਧਿ’ (Satt Sandh) appears in the story. Word ‘ਸਤਿ ਸੰਧਿ’ (Satt Sandh) is a combination of two words – ਸਤਿ meaning ‘truth ‘and ਸੰਧਿ, which means ‘union’. Thus, ‘ਸਤਿ ਸੰਧਿ’ is someone who has merged and become one with truth. Because Satt Sandh is a truthful person, as such he is king of Devtas. He ruled as a righteous king for long time but then a monstrous demon took birth and clashed with him. Many horrific battles were fought between them, with battlefields drenched with blood of thousands of perished soldiers. In Sri Dasam Granth Sahib Ji, wherever war scene are described, reader is also provided rendezvous with horrors of war. We are also told that, even if one faction might decide to fight out of sheer desperation to defend its faith, sadistic souls will always look to find cheap pleasures out of misery of others. Devils, foxes, dogs, vultures, etc.. are only satisfied when they see rivers of human blood flowing in front of their eyes. This important trait can be seen prevalent in almost every episode of Sri Dasam Granth Sahib Ji and the message delivered is universal: aftermath of war is never positive. Righteous men of faith have to pick up their swords in self-defence, a beautiful example of which is by Sri Guru Gobind Singh Sahib Ji in his eternal composition “Zafarnamah”:

Quote

ਚੁ ਕਾਰ ਅਜ਼ ਹਮਹ ਹੀਲਤੇ ਦਰ ਗੁਜ਼ਸ਼ਤ ॥ ਹਲਾਲ ਅਸਤ ਬੁਰਦਨ ਬ ਸ਼ਮਸ਼ੀਰ ਦਸਤ ॥੨੨॥

Meaning –“When an affair is past every other remedy, it is righteous, indeed to unsheath the sword.” Contrary to this, evil forces tirelessly make efforts to create atmosphere of discontentment and unrest in society.

For twenty long years and through day and night, the torch-bearer of righteousness king Satt Sandh kept fighting with ‘ਦੀਰਘਦਾੜ੍ਹ’ (Deeragh Daarh), the king of demons. Eventually, both armies clashed with each other one final time and ended up wiping each other out. Thirty thousand Khoohni soldiers got killed (Khoohni is a unit used to measure size of an army – 1 Khoohni = 21,870 elephants, 21,870 chariots, 65,610 horses and 1,09,350 foot soldiers, it totals to 2,18,700 units. Multiply this number by 30,000 = 6,56,10,00,000 total soliders killed). After that, both kings ferociously clashed with each other. Horrifying battle ensued and there were flames of fire everywhere. Out of these flames, a girl named ‘Baala’ was born. Dictionary meanings of word ‘Baala’ are – girl, female younger than 16 years of age, youthful girl. It is important to keep in mind here that surname ‘kaur’ of Sikh women also represents same meaning. Baala’s emergence from fire has a special metaphorical meaning – With the advent of Satjug, man became ‘Satt Sandh’ (pure, virtuous), and consequently, woman abandoned her corruptness (as depicted in Charitars) and took birth in a new, pure form. When virtuous Baala stepped into the battlefield with arsenal of weapons in her hands, she started slaying enemies, as:

Meaning – When Baala ran about in all four directions (it appeared as if she was) like a garland of snakes. There was no such male in sight, who could make her his own.

This is the ultimate aim of the creator of Sri Dasam Granth – to bestow women with power, to raise them from pits of helplessness and sexual exploitation and establish them at a level of power much higher than that of men. From this revolutionary successful attempt of Sri Guruji, brave and powerful women like Mai Bhago, Bibi Harsharan Kaur, women like those who lived in brutal conditions of the prisons of Mir Mannu, those who kept their devotion unwavering for Guruji even while having garlands of chopped babies around their necks, those who braved strenuous labour in captivity chanting ‘satnaam’, were born in Gurughar out of the bright flames of Chandi. By referring to women by names like Chandi, Bhagauti, Tulwar, Teer, Guruji blessed them with form of Maha-Chandi. In Guruji’s composition “Sabudh Baach”, protagonist ‘Baala’ has only one objective – to marry the lord of universe – Waheguru Ji. There is absolutely no affect of sexual urges on her body, mind and spirit. She has become like the soul whose only aim is to be one with The Supreme-Purity. The following verse shows her eagerness to obtain the Lord:

Then she considered in her heart – I will marry the lord of this universe. Now how do I serve her so that Kaalka Deva is pleased (with me)

This Kaalka Deva is not Mahakaal, but the creator of ‘Kaal’ – Akal Purakh Himself. The story gets immensely deep and absorbing from here on. Akal Purakh said to Baala that you will be able to attain me when the demon ‘ਸ੍ਵਾਸ ਬੀਰਜ’ (Swas Beeraj) gets killed by you.

Meaning –After midnight had passed, lord command – when demon Swas Beeraj gets killed (by you), after that you will be able to marry me

The verse means that when lustful tendencies get destroyed from the breath (Swas) of society (i.e when even minute dormant urges are eliminated), woman’s only motive would be to attain Akal Purakh. According to the story, Baala fought ferociously and as a result many infamous demons got killed.
She has been given the name ‘ਕਾਲਕਾ’ (Kaalka) in verse no. 52, i.e. woman has been depicted as competent Devi. At this stage, ‘Kaal Purakh’ manifests himself in front of Baala, who bows in reverence and requests his help to eliminate demonic forces. Kaal Purakh agrees and they both join hands together in destroying the demons. It is worthy to note that in almost all episodes of Sri Granth Sahib Ji where Devi is mentioned, the prime motive is to provide befitting veneration and infuse such self-determination in woman so that she could even outperform men in the destroying the evil, i.e. men and women could be of assistance to each other. Guruji is not in favour of any sort of imbalance in society; he neither favours male-dominant nor female-dominant social structure. He is staunch supporter of absolute equality and fair justice to everyone. The plan to uproot sexist attitudes and gender discrimination comes to fruition in ‘Sabudh Baach’. If these stories appear to have Puranic connotations, it is simply because during the time of Guruji’s social revolution, Puranas and their contents were deeply imbibed in society’s psyche for centuries. The only motive of Puranic references in Sri Dasam Granth Sahib Ji is to infuse passion for Dharam Yudh in minds of people. In the story, when Shiv (the Mahakaal of Shaakatpanthis) witnesses formidable alliance of Kaal and Baala proving relentless in war, his throne starts to shake:

Like the theme of compositions like ‘Krishnavtar’, in Subudh Baach too, characters like Khan, Mughals, Sayyed, and Sheikhs enter into battlefield to contend against Kaal Purakh. From the fire of Demons khans are born; and Mughals are born out of the fire from mouths of Pathans. Similarly, from the raging breath of Mughals, angry Sayyeds and Sheikhs are born. The opposers of Sri Dasam Granth find these descriptions meaningless while the fact is, these metaphorical statements exquisitely portrays similarities between the monstrosities of Mughals in India and evil Demons of Puranas. When Pathans invaded India, they burnt the Hindustanis with their fuming rage; when Mughals invaded, they put entire sub-continent into despair and turmoil. Similarly, Sayyeds and Sheikhs showered the locals with their extreme anger and hatred. No one came to India to establish peace and prosperity amongst the population. Just as demons like Nahar, Khan, Jharajhar Khan, Nihang Khan, Bharangh Khan, Jharangh Khan, Bairam Khan, Bahadur Khan, etc. fight against Mahakal, Mughals kept launching vitriolic attacks against religious beliefs of the people of India.

In the story, Mahakal has been portrayed in contemporary context, which provides clear hints that this Mahakal is certainly not Mahakal of Shaakats, because there is absolutely no references to wars between Mughals and Mahakal in any earlier historical or mythological episodes. This Mahakal is the One who has been constantly battling against unholy and impious forces right from Satjug to Kaljug, the present time of Guruji. Therefore, the Mahakal of Sri Dasam Granth Sahib Ji is none other than the ever-omnipresent Akal Purakh Waheguru. In the story, Mughals do not get scared when Mahakal first destroys Pathans. However, they flee when He starts annihilating them too. Then, He wipes out the Sayyeds and next in line are the Sheikhs. The word Sheikh refers to those sufis who had a definite, albeit implicit, religious agenda of initiating massive wave of conversions in India. They had totally different methodology of converting people than someone like Aurangzeb, nevertheless motives were the same. Descriptions of Mahakal destroying the very existence of all ‘Turks’ represents Sri Guruji’s wish to eradicate the process of conversions, because they were inhumane and downright ugly. The opposers of Sri Dasam Granth Sahib Ji should never forget that someone who can turn any war episode to fit contemporary issues most certainly cannot be a Pandit of Puranas. He can only be a far-sighted leader whose aim is to break free the people of india from shackles of contemporary problems. There is another important facet to be kept in mind about Sabudh Baach – The protagonist Baala, who fought with immense courage on the advent of Satjug does not appear anywhere in this present episode for a long time. This, again, is a subtle hint that the present social order has rendered the otherwise capable woman absolutely powerless. However, she reappears in the form of Bhawani and joins Kaal Purakh again in war efforts once all the ‘Turk’ Demons have been destroyed. (A clear inspiration delivered through this event is, if women of today get up to fight against oppressors, they can also put an end to evil regimes.) In the end, the following verses appear, which we read daily in Chaupai Sahib:

Sadh Sangat ji, please download the pdf containing the translation and analysis of Sri Charitropakhyan Bani. Please spread this around everywhere so that the sangat may wake up from the lies and slander that nindaks have spread about Gurbani.

With Sri Guruji’s kirpa, the fourth article in the Charitropakhyan series is now complete. This article provides a summary of important Charitars, from no. 25 – No. 403, and attempts to refute the baseless and illogical arguments raised by ragi darshan and his band of nindaks from time to time. It is an important read in my opinion, because allegations like Sri Dasam Granth Sahib ji promotes Brahmanical ideas are aptly refuted with proper quotes. As with the previous articles, this one is also extensively based on Dr. Harbhajan Singh Ji’s book while translations are from Gyani Narain Singh Ji’s steek.

The king in Charitar No. 25 (ਪ੍ਰੇਮ ਕੁਮਾਰੀ – Story of Prem Kumari) is an infertile aged man . Concerned about the lack of heir, his politically conscious wife makes physical relations with another man. It is important to note that it is the adulterous nature of the king that has brought about this situation. In Charitar No. 27 (ਬਿਓਮ ਕਲਾ – Story of Beom Kalaa), a similar story is depicted where the protagonist queen is forced to drop her morality because her husband is an old man incapable of procreating. The woman in Charitar No. 28 (ਸੂਰਛਟ – Story of Soorchatt) is extremely beautiful while her husband is disgustingly ugly. 30th Charitar (ਚਾਚਰ ਮਤੀ – Chaachar Mati) tells the story of a queen whose husband is one-eyed and she falls for a wandering juggler. In Charitar No. 32 (ਰਸ ਮੰਜਰੀ – Rass Manjari), the wise protagonist woman Rass Manjari kills the thieves. 49th Charitar (ਨੰਦ ਮਤੀ – Nand Mati) is the story of a woman named Nand Mati, who lives with her husband in Anandpur. Her husband keeps idling in Guruji’s court the whole day while she keeps her engrossed with other men:

The message being given through this story is that it is not a religious obligation to keep sitting in places of worship; it is important to live in and take care of the household affairs too. This is an appropriate admonition for those people who ignore their household responsibilities by staying only at religious places. The story of Charitar No. 80 (ਰਾਧਾ – Radha) is worth paying proper attention to. Under the influence of pessimistic talks of a Yogi, the king in the story makes up his mind to become yogi too. But his thoughtful wife correctly guides him thus:

In this Charitar, woman’s extremely sharp and constructive reasoning is portrayed; the prudent character of queen is able to bring the king back from the path of renunciation and onto the path of Raj-Yog:

Charitar No. 119 (ਰਾਜਕੁਮਾਰੀ ਰੁਦ੍ਰਕਲਾ – Rajkumari RudraKalaa)has been a particular target of intense criticism. It’s story is associated with the practice of sorcery, black magic, incantations, Rudra-Kala and Sambraatra in a state called ਤਿਰਹੁਤ (Terhut). In actuality, the word ਤਿਰਹੁਤ is a corrupted form of word ਤ੍ਰਿਪੁਰ+ਹਤ (Tripur+hatt), used for Shiva. ਸੰਬਰਾਤ੍ਰਿ (Sambraatra) is again used for Shiva and Rudrakalaa, the protagonist of the story, is ‘ਰੁਦ੍ਰ-ਸ਼ਿਵ’ (Rudra-Shiva), the wife of Shiva. The real motive of this story is to negate and criticise the Yantra-Mantra-Tantra (to possess and control, use of magic mantras, sorcery as specified in tantra-shastars) meditation techniques practised by the worshippers of Shiva. The abundance of vulgar words in this story is to reflect and highlight the filth propagated by Tantric faiths. The episode has been written with the specific purpose of repudiation of Shaatvik and similar faiths, therefore it is absolutely inappropriate and irresponsible to associate Charitropakhyan with practitioners of such belief systems. The next Charitar (No. 120 – ਵਿਸ਼ਨੂੰ – Vishnu) is also linked to Shiva, in which his rage is depicted as the root cause of creation of demons.

Charitar No. 266 (ਰਨਖੰਬ ਕਲਾ- RanKhambh Kala ) needs to be analysed in detail because there are lots of questions raised against it by the opposers of Sri Dasam Granth. They also love to distort the meanings of this Charitar in attempt to register an obscene version in the mind of readers, whereas in reality, this lengthy and important Charitar inspires the readers to renounce false beliefs of idol-worship and live in the remembrance of that one and only Akal Purakh Waheguru Ji. This advice comes from the female protagonist of the Charitar, which signifies their highly sensitive and conscious mind. In fact, it is a perfect tribute to the female’s intellectual awareness and rationality against idol-worship, an example which is extremely rare to find in other religious texts of the world. King Sumatt Sen (In most stories, the characters have been named in accordance with their characteristics and personality traits) has one extremely beautiful daughter named Rankhambh Kala and four gallant sons – Saardul Dhuj, Naahar Dhuj, Singh Ket, and Har Ket. The king, in order to get his daughter educated, had given lots of money to a karam-kaandi Brahman expert in religious texts, their grammar and Vedas. One day, the princess goes to the Brahman. With folded hands, the Brahman kept bowing his head repeatedly in front of an idol. The princess laughed and asked him, ‘Why are doing praying in front of this stone with folded hands?’. The Brahman replied, ‘O Princess! The idol you are referring to is not a stone, it is God.’ It is very important for the readers to know the replies made by the princess to refute the Brahman, because it is a vital component of the moral lessons delivered by the Charitars:

Meaning – O fool!; Do you not recognise God, who is omnipresent in all three worlds? You worship this stone, which pushes you (further) away from God. You perform sins on pretext of faith, looking at which, even sin get ashamed. O fool! Drop at the feet of Lord, there is no God exclusively in stones.

Meaning –(That) God has manifested Himself everywhere; in water, on land, in all lifeforms, in every king, in the sun, in the moon, in the sky; He can be realised with love and grace in any of them. In fire, in air, on land; there is no place where He is not present. (He) is omnipresent in everything, and not just in stones.

Meaning – (If we) make the whole earth (our) paper, and seven seas the ink; the entire vegetation cut down to make writing devices; (if we) get Saraswati as the narrator and entire mankind as scribe, (if we) get them to write continuously for 60 yugs (ages), (even then) nobody can find out the mysterious ways of the Lord. O fool! (and you think) you have got Him manifested in this stone.

Meaning – (You) keep holding you breath for few moments and keep chanting ‘Shiv Shiv’ by standing on one leg. If someone comes and gives (you) even one paisa, (you) forget your chants and get busy picking it up with your teeth [like a greedy dog].

Meaning –(You) make clay Shivas and throw it in water after worshipping it and then knead clay to make some (more). (You) fall in the feet (of that idol) and rub foreheads; O (fool!), just think what it has got that it will give (you)? (You) worship its phallus and fall at its feet thinking it is Shiva. (Then) you will only get the thing that you worship (as reward). Will you give it (phallus) to your daughter or chew on it yourself? This is exactly how SadaShiv (God) will humiliate you.

Meaning –O fool! The stone that you think is Shiva, (you) will not receive anything from it. That who itself has been reincarnated as stone, what can it give (you) if its pleased? It will make (you) like itself, then (you) will be conferred the title of stone. O fool! Be aware of this now!; (for you) will not be able to understand it later.

Meaning – (You) spent your life (unaware) in childhood and (you) did not remember Him in (your) youth. (You) kept getting others to donate, while (you) never lifted your hand to give donations (yourself). (You) have lowered God’s head by bowing in front of idols. O fool! (you) remained trapped in web of desires, saying ‘tomorrow, tomorrow’; (you) have wasted life away.Meaning –(You) lecture others but do not follow the teachings (yourself) and (you) keep preaching others to renounce the love for money. In the greed of that money, (you) shamelessly keep begging at every door and from everyone, without considering their status. (You) say I am pure, but (in reality you) are highly impure (because) you work for the malechhs for bits of food. (You claim to be) content but in reality (you) are highly discontent (because you) leave God’s door and beg at every other door.

Meaning – O Brahman! By reading one or two Puranas, (you) have become arrogant. But (you) have not read that Purana, reading which entire sins of the world are eradicated. You pretend to meditate, (but your) mind is engrossed with thoughts of money day and night. Fools may believe your theories, but I do not believe in any of them.

The readers can now make up their own mind whether these supreme, inspirational precepts have been given by some avataree person or by some ordinary poet. Decide for yourself whether slander of such words is the path to emancipation or the path to hell? There are lots of similar motivational verses given in this long story. It appears as if it is neither the minister Bhoop dialogue, nor the advice given to the Brahman; instead, it is a divine message delivered to us by some enlightened soul:

Meaning –To some, these Brahmans teach the art of Tantra and to others, they teach the use of different Mantras. Those who do not get influenced by any of these, they sing songs, sloks and kabits for them. (These Brahmans) are daylight robbers who steal money from people’s houses. (Their dexterity) amazes thieves and puts swindlers to shame. They have no fear of the priest or the law, and (they) do not hesitate to rip off even their own disciples.Meaning – Why do (you) make such effort, for what do (you)worship this idol? Why do you deceit the world? (Your) current life is destroyed; (now you) will lose afterlife too. Do not preach (me) false mantras. Whatever amount of money (you) want, take it and be merry. The mantras you have taught the princes has been taught, but do not teach me (any mantras).

The adversaries of Sri Dasam Granth Sahib Ji make a big accusation that the spiritual head of this story is the Maha Kaal of Shaakat Panthis. It is important to mention here that the Brahman in this story worships Rudra-Shiva. It is also Shiva as Bhairo, husband of Bhairavi, he is also Mahakal and Rudra, etc. Following are a few references from other granths as proofs:

“He who sees wine, fish, meat, woman should salute the Bhairavi Devi and say Om! Salutation to the beloved of Siva, the remover of all obstacles”[Chapter 25, Shaakat NandatRangini]

“Sankara has as many aspects as there are Mahasaktis, He who worships Her ever worships Him as husband… He who worships the Devis pleases Rudra.”[Principles of Tantra, P.63]

“If it vexes Thee, drown me with a thrust of Thy foot, but then in so doing thou must first raise Thy foot from the breast of Mahakala (Siva). The Devi is represented as standing on Siva, who is, as it were, corpse, for he is bhokta only, whilst she is kartari.”[Principles of Tantra, P.63]

The Mahakal mentioned in the above story is the formless Waheguru – the creator of Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra-Shiv. It is the same Waheguru who, in the bani ‘Jaap’, has been referred to as ‘Sarb Kaal’; or ‘Kaalaan Kaal’;. The protagonist Rankhambh Kalaa preaches the Brahman to stop worshipping Rudra-Shiv and idols, and inspires him to worship the formless Mahakal instead. This Mahakal is different from Rudra-Shiv. See verse no. 96 below:

Meaning – If they had any powers in their (false) mantras, they would not beg at every doorstep. (They) chant mantras from mouth and (with that deceit) are able to collect large amounts of wealth. Ram, Krishna, Shiva, Brahma, etc. have all been destroyed and resurrected by Kaal.

By labelling the following verse of this Charitar-story, opposers do widespread slandering of Sri Dasam Granth Sahib Ji. Actually, they derive wrong meanings from it to project indecency. In reality, however, Rankhambh Kala, after getting fed up with the Brahman’s obstinacy and baseless logic,throws the stone phallus on his face and says the same phallus you worship everyday has struck you on your face today. The verse and its meanings are as follows:

Meaning (From Dr. Jaggi’s translation) (..and she said) O Brahman! Now tell me, where has your Shiv gone now? Whom (you) used to worship all the time, he has broken (your) teeth. (you have) spent so much time worshipping the phallus, (that same phallus) has struck you in the face.

Therefore, there is no indecency in this verse nor anyone other than Akal Purakh has been given the status of the supreme being. Rebuttal of fake rituals of the Brahmans, idol-worship and deity-worship and the motivation for the worship of Only Waheguru Ji instead has been issued via the female protagonist of this Charitar. For rest of the world, it sets a prime example of the awakened state of women and issues an important message that a woman can play important role in spreading true faith as well as in the eradication of baseless traditions. Most Charitars deal with, and successfully portray, kings engrossed in wasteful pleasures, the sexual urges of people impersonating as yogis and great renuniciators, widespread exploitation on the pretexts of Jantra-Mantras, the co-relations between sex and drugs, actions of immorality emerging from incompatible marriages, and the evil nexus of wealth, power and intoxicants. The moral from all of the above is to abstain from such situations and to live a honest, virtuous life. In some stories, Guruji has attached himself as the protagonist to try to convey the message that such attacks of kaam happen on men of God too, and they are able to destroy them with their superior intellect. The following verse beautifully illustrates sharp power of reasoning of women:

It is unfortunate that influential people like Chitr Singh have turned woman of immense talents into Kamini, a symbol of desire. If aged people like him will forcefully establish physical relations with young girls like Chitravarti, it will result in immoral actions in the society as the desires of beautiful and young women cannot be fulfilled by weak, aged, and ugly people:

Another accusation made by the opposition is that charitars give instructions to not disclose secrets to women, which is not in accordance with Gurmat. See the following verses from 12th and 13th charitars:

Meaning –The person who tells the secrets of heart to woman, old age snatches his youth and Yamraj takes away his life.

It is our opinion that these lines appear in those stories where woman has been blinded by sexual desires. It is instructed to not give away heart’s secrets to an immoral woman as the consequences of it can be devastating. Even today, youthful female spies are deployed to spy on other countries. If someone gets lured in their trap and gives away any secrets, then destruction is inevitable. We have seen in previous verses that Sri Guruji has given immense motivation to increase love and affection with one’s own woman, but has given stern warnings against falling for lustful women, as:

Meaning –No matter how much love increases and body goes through torments, (one) should not fall for any other woman (except one’s own) even by mistake.

Sri Guruji also gives the important message to mankind that it is not only woman who is responsible for widespread immorality in society, in fact it is male who is more responsible for this epidemic. That is why, it is inappropriate to be harsh on any woman for her immoral behaviour. As far as possible, It is befitting to forget about her mis-deeds:

Meaning –This is the biggest punishment for the employee and woman – instead of physically hurting them, (one should) throw them out of heart.

Summary of the Charitars

The stories in these Charitars are not sexually provocative; On the contrary, they provide awareness of the social pain, criminal mentality, and exploitation of women that results from intense lust. The wealthy and ruling factions of society have been ridiculed by portraying the sorry state that emerges from their indulgence in lustful actions. The capitalistic mentality in which the only aim of earning and storing money has been shown to have adverse effect on the family network. Those who wear religious attire and pretend to be great renuniciators have been shown to be worse than a family man; they abandon their own houses and wish for others’ wealth and bodies. People who believe in black magic and Tantra shastra have been portrayed rightly as sexually obsessed and of criminal tendencies. Incompatible marriages (aged man marrying young woman, ugly person getting married to beautiful, pleasant woman, a fool with clever woman, a poor man with materialistically ambitious wife) have been shown to bring about devastating consequences. The young widows who find it difficult to remarry have been shown to stray away towards wrongdoings. Conversely, a man marrying multiple women has been shown to develop bad character. And anyone who gives his secret to a nymph has been shown to be completely ruined. The unholy and unbreakable alliance of drugs and sex is told and most importantly, the male society has been held squarely responsible for the birth of immoralities in women. It is almost impossible to find any other such superb literary composition that has provided eloquent and minute disquisition of the psychology of sexually obsessed people the way these Charitars have.